From Hershey with a KISS

Hershey Pennsylvania. Chocolate lovers check it out. 

Street lights, street signs and gallon jugs of Hershey syrup...everything chocolate!

                 

We were randomly chosen to participate in a chocolate tasting experience. We learned to look, listen, smell and taste each sample chocolate to determine all the flavors mixed in each piece. We successfully passed the test, got the diploma and immediately went into a sugar coma.        


             So thankful for the short drive to our campsite and our cozy honeymoon cabin on wheels.

Friends and Family

We made it to St Louis just in time for dinner with our friends Tom and Ashley Ohmit. They moved out here 5 months ago so it was great getting caught up and seeing their adorable little boys.  Praise God they found a good church home in their area but they will sure be missed by their friends and family in California.

  All Aboard for the St Louis Trolley...Tom is thinking about hitching a ride downtown.

Instead, we settle for enjoying the city view of the night skyline from our RV site. 

        Leaving St Louis we crossed the Stan Musial Bridge on our way to West Virginia via Illinois,
          Indiana and Kentucky. Here are several shots from the day's drive. What beautiful country!

    Beautiful drive, not much traffic today but saw a lot of armadillos belly up on the roadside. Ugh! 

So many great choices for lunch at Ramsey's in Lexington, Kentucky. Oh Yes, blackened catfish and a blue cheese and steak salad. Delish!

        

                                              That would be "West, by golly, Virginia!"

              The majestic New River Gorge Bridge is the world's 8th greatest structure: 876 feet high 

and 3,030 feet long. Once a year they close the bridge and allow bungie jumping.  Wheee! 

                          Late afternoon sunlight lights up the golden capital building in Charleston

 Yay, we arrived at Tom's Aunt Glenna in Glasgow, West Virginia. What a sweet lady! We are so happy to be related to you!

Right behind Glenna's house is the lovely Kanawha River flanked by the famous lush green hillsides of West Virginia. 

 We loved our time with you and sharing new and old stories about the Meadows family. Thank you for your graciuos hospitality. Wish we could be closer to see you more often. God be with you til we meet again. 😘

California to New York 2015

On the Road again....just can't wait to get on the road again! With a 4:00 am start we left San Clemente and had smooth sailing until Kingman, Arizona. On the I -40 there, we got in line with all the truckers waiting out an accident that closed the hwy for 1 ½ hours. It slowed things down but we're not complaining, just very thankful it wasn't us.  

Slowing down gave us time to spot this blooming "Jumpin' Cholla" cactus.

Clear sailing again with beautiful views through Arizona and New Mexico. We thank God for our safe first day of 850 miles on the road, ending with a stunning sunset in Albuquerque.

        

           Tom made quick friends as an ambassador with the locals when we stopped for the night in Oklahoma City. Here they are enjoying some fellowship and Cherokee s'mores!                                                

 

After enjoying a tasty buffalo burger dinner Tom is happy to take a selfie with his new Bison Buddy. Lorraine scored some new Minnetonka moccasins at the Cherokee Trading Post. Woohoo! Good timing since we have a cold rainy drive ahead. 

       

                                   However, these great gas prices helped brighten up our rainy day.                                                       

       

2015 New Years Fun

What better way to start the New Year than with a camping to trip on the Northern California Coast?

 First stop, Bodega Bay.  Yippee!!!

                           Low tide captured the sky's lovely reflection in one inch of water.

         We are camped on that little peninsula in the middle of the bay. Beautiful views every direction.

Yes, the quaint town of Bodega Bay is famous for Alfred Hitchcock's mystery thriller, "The Birds"

Can you almost hear the haunting squeaky sound track?

We opted for lunch at the Sand Piper Restaurant instead. A good choice

Check out this view from our campsite. Beautiful lighting as dusk approaches.

Next morning a walk on the jetty....whoa, watch out for those deadly waves Tom

                  Fresh clam chowder and crab sandwiches at Spud Point Crab Company...yummo!

      

A blustery day was perfect for a hike along the picturesque Headlands

This gorgeous sunset was the perfect ending to our fun time in Bodega Bay

                               Now off to San Francisco for something completely different

          How about a tour of AT&T Ball Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants?

Even though Tom was in enemy territory he still enjoyed the interesting character of the stadium
   and spectacular views.

    We met up with our good friends Greg and Lynne McVey who were our tour directors for the day. After the ball park tour, we had lunch at the Polo Grounds Pub, followed by a scenic segue tour through Golden Gate Park and then ended the day with dinner over looking the Pacific Ocean. Many thanks to our wonderful hosts!

  We camped at Pacifica for the night then headed down the coast to Santa Cruz. Our camp site was right next to the sailboats in the Marina which allows for RV parking. We had such a good time here last year that we came back.

 

Looks like Tom is ready to tip that light house over!

We got all dressed up for a New Years Party at the Coconut Grove, a night of dinner and dancing. Well, at least dinner, the evening got cut short with Lorraine's back acting up but we still had a good time. Happy New Year 2015!